Self-Reflection: The Molding of a Martial Artist

In the philosophical teaching of the Doctrine of the Mean, a book of classical Chinese philosophy, there is a passage by Kongzi (Confucious) which reads, “In archery we have something like the way of the superior man. When the archer misses the center of the target, he turns round and seeks for the cause of his failure in himself.”

Seeking the cause of failure within ourselves is the higher purpose of martial arts training, and one that makes you a student for life. This is a process that starts with your first class and continues through the span of your training.

The struggles you encounter and endure are psychophysical. Your muscles will ache, and your mind will complain. You must learn to overcome these obstacles; they are your inner enemy.

Initially these struggles might be due to a lack of physical conditioning. But even someone who is in relatively good shape will suffer from the new stresses placed on the muscles from stretching, kicking, and stance work. Many people will fall by the wayside in the first few months of training because of what seems to be an ever-present soreness.

A beginner may fail to understand that these challenges are part of molding yourself. For example, a fine sword goes through many steps of refinement; the blade is put through fire and hammered repeatedly to rid it of impurities. Similarly, overcoming these psychophysical struggles is the beginning of your refinement process. As your skill improves, you will be exposed to more advanced practices that will require your greater effort and deeper concentration.

And as you continue to advance, new challenges will appear where you must blend a combination of movements flawlessly with proper footwork and breathing. You may find yourself gasping for breath and your techniques may be clumsy at first. This is largely due to being overly tense and to the improper and excessive use of force.

While the instructor will give you guidance and point out certain flaws, you must reflect within yourself to sense where you are going wrong so that you can correct these flaws and overcome these difficulties. Just like the archer seeks the cause of failure within himself when he misses the target, you too must look within yourself and mold and refine both body and mind.

This process of inner reflection, to be impactful and transforming, must transcend the martial arts training hall, the Guan, and extend and be implemented in every facet of your everyday life.